Whisk together the salt and the flour. Add it to a food processor, if you have it, and add in the egg and water, pulsing until just combined. If you don’t have a food processor, this can easily be done by hand, just be careful not to overwork the dough or else it will be dry. When the dough is mixed together, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.

When the dough has been chilled, lightly flour your work surface. Unwrap half of the dough and roll it out with a floured rolling pin to about ⅛ inch thick (you want these to be nice, thin envelopes for your tasty filling). Use a glass or a cookie cutter to cut out circles, and place the circles on another floured surface. Keep going until you have used up all of your dough.

While the dough chills, you can make your filling. First, get a pot of water boiling and add in the peeled and cubed potatoes. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Drain the water from the potatoes, place in a bowl, add in the cream cheese, Parmesan, salt, and pepper, and mash until mostly smooth, either with a mixer or by hand. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

In a skillet, add in the olive oil and heat over medium-high. Add in the diced bacon and cook until crisp, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate to dry and drain all but 1 tablespoon of grease from the skillet.

Add in the sliced scallions and cook over medium heat until caramelized, about 8-10 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute or so, until fragrant. Remove the shallots and garlic from the pan with a slotted spoon and dispose of the grease (or save it to use another time).

Add the cooked bacon, shallots, garlic, and minced chives to the mashed potato mixture and mix together until well combined.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add in 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Place about a tablespoon or so of filling inside each cut-out circle of dough, and then press the edges together to close up the pierogi.

Drop the pierogi in batches (do not over-crowd them) into the water and cook for 3-7 minutes, until they float to the top. Drain, toss with the 1-2 tablespoons of melted butter, garnish with the extra minced chives, and serve with some sour cream to dip them in.

Recipe by The Crepes of Wrath at http://www.thecrepesofwrath.com/2011/05/16/baked-potato-pierogi/